Question

Prevalence is the total number of people who are living with cancer. It is more often and more usefully defined as those still alive how many years after the initial cancer diagnosis?

a. 1 year
b. 2 years
c. 5 years
d. 10 years

Answer 1

Prevalence includes both new and existing cases of a disease within a population and is a measure at a specific point in time, commonly used to reflect the healthcare burden of a disease like cancer. The most common time frame used to define cancer prevalence is 5 years after the initial diagnosis.

Step-by-step explanation:

Prevalence is the total number of people who are living with cancer in a given population at a specific point in time. It includes both new and existing cases, making it a useful indicator of the overall healthcare burden of the disease. When assessing prevalence, it's often coupled with a time frame, such as 1 year, 2 years, 5 years, or 10 years after initial diagnosis. Most commonly, studies consider those still alive 5 years after the initial cancer diagnosis, which helps to inform on patient outcomes and the effectiveness of treatments over a significant period. For instance, if a survey with 80,000 respondents reveals that 9,400 individuals have been diagnosed with colon cancer, the prevalence rate would be calculated by dividing these cases by the population size, resulting in a prevalence of 11.75%, or 118 cases per 1,000 people.